Why the Microsoft Lumia 950XL is a better buy than the 950

Microsoft recently released two flagship devices, the Lumia 950 XL and the Lumia 950, both of which run the company’s Windows 10 (mobile) operating system and share many features: same screen resolution, same amount of onboard storage and system memory and same camera, a 20-megapixel camera with three flashes.

The 950 XL is certainly the better purchase out of the two models. Yes, it is bigger than the 950 and more expensive – Carphone Warehouse sells it for £469.99 compared to £419.99 for its smaller sibling – but there’s three key features that will win businesses and individuals alike.

It has a bigger battery (3340mah vs 3000mah) which, according to Microsoft’s own numbers, should allow users to squeeze that all-important extra hour when making calls or browsing the web.

The system-on-chip used by the 950 XL (the Snapdragon 810) runs about 10% faster compared to the one on the 950 (the Snapdragon 808) and has two extra cores, which should come handy in tackling demanding tasks.

Perhaps the most important point is that Microsoft is giving away a free Display Dock when one pre-orders a Lumia 950 XL. Microsoft has yet to give pricing details for this gadget but it is likely that it retails for far more than £50 (i.e. the price difference between the 950 XL and the 950).

And for any business users, this may well be the perfect accessory to match their new Lumia handset. The offer is valid for the purchase of the 950 XL and offer registration between 20th November 2015 and 31st January 2016.

Just connect your devices, keyboard, mouse and your monitor to it and it transforms into a fully-fledged desktop; your phone will automatically detect these and switch to Continuum mode, which brings up the familiar Windows 10 desktop.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Desire worked at ITProPortal right at the beginning and was instrumental in turning it into the leading publication we all know and love today. He then moved on to be the Editor of TechRadarPro - a position he still holds - and has recently been reunited with ITProPortal since Future Publishing's acquisition of Net Communities.